Sunday, November 13, 2011

Sunny Day Clicker Training

I decided to go play with Chrome a little since it was almost in the seventies today. I just couldn’t waste such a pretty day, even with being sick lol. I’m so glad I did. We had so much fun!

I only intended to review the stuff he already knows. I started with backing because he hasn’t been listening to it well when he’s distracted. He did really well, but Faran was being nosy so we left the round pen. Unfortunately that put us in the area where the persimmons are falling so he completely ignored me while he searched for dessert. When he didn’t find any he came back lol.

He didn’t really want to listen, but when he realized I wasn't dishing out treats unless he performed the behaviors he started listening again. I think he was just in a lazy mood today because it’s been so cold lately and today was unusually warm. Then I worked on shoulder yields. He did perfect on his right side, which is the side he learned first, but needed refreshing on his left side. I just applied the cue and waited for him to do it, when he did I clicked and gave a treat.

After that we worked on following and whoa (not much because Faran got in the way again). Then we moved to the pedestal and worked on circling his hindquarters around the pedestal. He did really well and only tripped off of it once when he forgot to straight his front legs out before stepping over with his rear legs. It was cute seeing him stand on the pedestal with his front legs crossed hehe.

Then we worked on head lowering (which surprisingly he did perfect!), lateral flexion (which he now only does if I’m standing on the opposite side I’m cueing, because if I cue the side I’m standing on he thinks I’m asking for a shoulder yield since they are in the same spot - that’s how light the cue for shoulder yield is that he confuses it with the tickle lol) and picking up all four feet which he did fantastic on! Brat. Now why can’t he do that all of the time? I’ll just have to repeat them so many times he doesn’t even think about it or if that fails just work on fading the clicker. I don’t really care because we have fun and he’s a really well behaved horse.

After reviewing all of that I decided to work on something new. The first thing that came to mind was teaching him to lead by his mane. I’ve been wanting to teach it because it’s so helpful if you don’t have a halter and need to lead them. My Appaloosa mare I had growing up would lead by her forelock through anything. Even when they escaped from the pasture and were eating grass (front yard was fenced too), she would lead back to the pasture. :D Faran was making things difficult though and Chrome kept lowering his head, so I decided to work on him backing up from a light pull on his tail. I’ve been wanting to teach that because it’s a common method used for asking horses to back off of a trailer.

At first Chrome just stood there and ignored me. He’s used to me messing with his tail to clean it and comb it. I increased the pressure a little and he still ignored me, so I started using a bumping pressure (pull, release, pull, release). Keep in mind this is very gentle pressure. I’m not hurting him or aggravating him to a point where he would want to kick. So when I started doing that he started yielding his hindquarters (probably trying to face me), but I just followed him around and kept the cue consistent.

After his third or fourth time of yielding his hindquarters when he came to a stop he placed his foot behind the other instead of across in front of it. I clicked and treated. When I walked back around and started pulling lightly again he almost immediately stepped one hoof backward. C/T. The next time he tried yielding again and when that didn’t work he stepped backward with both front and rear hooves. :D I got him to do it several more times with two steps backwards, gave him a jackpot and ended the session. I’m so proud of how quickly he picked it up! We’ve never worked on anything like this before. Such a good boy.

1 comment:

beautiful weather this weekend huh? I clicked too. Chance(Mini Pip) is picking up skills very quickly, and is just thrilled to be engaged in something challenging. He learned to back up, but will need a lot more work on that.Sure is fun!

Date Aquired: 10-19-09 at five months old.Likes: Eating, clicker training, being brushed, playing (with anything he can get his teeth on), training, grazing and getting dirty.Dislikes: Being ignored and/or bored, being in a stall and standing still for long periods of time (unless he's being brushed).

Chrome's Barn Colors: Royal blue and silver.

If you're not a very avid reader but would still like to follow Chrome's progress be sure to check out hisMonthly Progress Reportson the nineteenth of every month. You can also read more about him on the About Chrome page.

Chrome's Conformation Shot

About Rocky

Name: RockyNicknames: Rocks, RockStar, King of Side EyeSire:Unknown, but was pinto colored and registered AQHA or APHADam: Unknown, but was black and registered AQHABreed: Quarter Horse/PaintDOB: 2004Height: 14.3hhWeight:1278lbsColor: Black Sabino

Date Aquired: 5-30-15.Likes: Food! Being boss. He was always the low man on the totem pole so he's loving ruling the roost here.Dislikes: Leaving his herd and having his hooves soaked for thrush.

Barn Colors: Coming soon. Hubby hasn't decided yet.

History: His sire (a show horse) broke into the neighbor's pasture, so the breeding was not planned. The old man who owned the mare died and the family sold his dam to a friend of my friend C. After Rocky was born the friend sold his dam. C played with and trained Rocky from the day he was born. She started him under saddle and did all of his training. Eventually the friend gave him to C and she's had him ever since until she gave him to me.

About Led Zeppelin

Date Aquired: My dad rescued/bought him shortly before I brought Chrome home, but he gave him to us on 1-18-10.

Likes: Treats, forehead scratches, his buddies and braying early in the morning.Dislikes: Being handled at all (his first three years were spent in someone's backyard never being touched), sudden movements and sometimes his bratty pasture mate Chrome. :D

About Me

Me with Chrome's sire Jan!

I'm almost thirty, live in the USA and I love horses (obviously). I've been obsessed with Friesians (that's Chrome's purebred Friesian sire in the above picture) for over ten years. I started riding horses when I was five and always had horses from then until 2007 when I found myself without one. I wanted a Friesian, but the budget wouldn't allow for it so I started looking at crosses. I found Chrome (Friesian/Arabian) and I haven't regretted it for a second. I bought him as a five month old weanling in 2009 and I've done all of his training myself. The blog is about our continued journey together as I attempt to make him my dream all around horse who can do anything from dressage, competitive trail riding, driving, mounted archery, working equitation and anything else we want to try. He's still very green and we obviously have a long way to go, but you're welcome to follow along on our journey. I also love dogs, art, photography, writing, reading, fishing, biking, camping, archery and many other things. You can learn more on my About Me page, my Equestrian Bucket List page and my FAQ page.